White Reaper

The Kentucky rock & roll outfit White Reaper launched its career with boisterous garage punk that fused sugary, earworm melodies and high-decibel intensity. Departing from those raw beginnings, the band revisited the gleaming, meticulously produced adult-oriented rock of the 1980s on The World's Best American Band in 2017. That decisive stylistic pivot secured a contract with Elektra. On its debut for the storied imprint, You Deserve Love, the group leaned further into the decade by emphasizing pop elements. The follow-up, Asking for a Ride in 2023, removed the pop gloss and sheen in favor of a more direct approach.

Singer-guitarist Tony Esposito and twin brothers Nick Wilkerson on drums and Sam Wilkerson on bass formed White Reaper while still in their teens, issuing the band's inaugural single in 2013 with the tracks "Conspirator" and "The Cut." Polyvinyl Records soon noticed the group's vitality and songcraft, signing White Reaper and issuing its six-song self-titled EP in June 2014. Shortly before that release, keyboardist Ryan Hater joined, and the expanded lineup embarked on an extensive tour supporting Young Widows. During those travels the musicians developed new material, which they tracked with engineer Kevin Ratterman upon returning to Louisville. Captured in a single breathless week, White Reaper Does It Again appeared on Polyvinyl in summer 2015.

Guitarist Hunter Thompson had joined by the time White Reaper next entered the studio. Reuniting with Ratterman, the band infused its sound with arena-scale guitar lines, 1980s rock attitude, and additional keyboard textures. Polyvinyl released the resulting album, The World's Best American Band, in early 2017. After relentless touring the group signed with Elektra and recorded with producer Jay Joyce, whose prior credits include Eric Church and Cage the Elephant. Joyce amplified the 1980s AOR focus while introducing lighter dance-rock touches. You Deserve Love arrived in late 2019, after which the band toured once more. Following a period out of the spotlight that included only a cover of "Sad But True" for the Metallica Blacklist tribute, White Reaper resurfaced in early 2023 with Asking for a Ride. The band itself produced the set, reviving the loose rock & roll energy of its origins while retaining AOR and punk-pop elements.